Nordertor

Town gate in Flensburg, Germany

The Nordertor (Danish: Nørreport) is an old town gate of the city of Flensburg. The gate was built around 1595. Today, the little landmark is in use as a symbol for the German town Flensburg.[1]

The Nordertor, a town gate, in winter

History

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In 1345 the town of Flensburg began to build its town wall. A gate was built on the north side of the town. It was called Norder Porte. It was replaced by a building in the 16th century called the Nordertor.[2] This marked the northern boundary of the town. It was a checkpoint that was closed in the night.[3]

On the north side of the gate are two plaques. The left one shows the royal coat of arms of King Christian IV, 1577-1648 and the Latin words: „Regna Firmat Pietas“ — Piety strengthens the Realms. The right one shows the coat of arms of Flensburg with the German words: „Friede ernährt, Unfrieden verzehrt“ — Peace nurtures, strife devours.[3] There is also a date- 1767. This means that the town gate was restored in the time of Christian VII, 1749-1808.[4]

After 1796 the town grew beyond the town wall. There had been a ban on building outside the wall before then.[5] The Neustadt (Newtown), in the neighborhood of the Nordertor was built. In 1913 and 1914 it was restored by the architect Paul Ziegler. The Nordertor got a clock.[6] In 1966 the Deutsche Bundespost made a stamp with a picture of the gate on it. It was a 30 Pfennig stamp, used to send letters within Germany. The Nordertor stamps were sold over 3 billion times.[7] In the 1990s the gate was again restored and the clock was removed. In 2004 the gate was licensed as a venue for civil weddings, so that the weddings could be performed since then directly above the archway of the gate.[3]

References

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  1. Heinz Taufel, Kay Wohlsen: Flensburg, 29
  2. Werner Scharnweber: Flensburg, 29
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Heinz Taufel, Kay Wohlsen: Flensburg, Glossary: Nordertor
  4. Compare Flensburger Straßennamen. Gesellschaft für Flensburger Stadtgeschichte, Flensburg 2005 , ISBN 3-925856-50-1, article: Am Nordertor
  5. Flensburger Tageblatt: Engelsby, Mürwik, Jürgensby - Stadtgeschichte vor der Haustür, Februar 5. 2009. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  6. Lutz Wilde: Denkmaltopographie Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Kulturdenkmale in Schleswig-Holstein. Band 2, Flensburg, page 140
  7. Flensburg-Online, Nordertor, Retrieved November 28, 2015

54°47′43.504″N 9°25′48.175″E / 54.79541778°N 9.43004861°E / 54.79541778; 9.43004861